Agape
by Aqualisa1995
Summary: Lily Potter neè Evans was often called the brightest witch of her generation. In a world that followed another step by step, she diverged in the making of Harry's protection. The power of a soul is a powerful thing as is a mother's love.
1. Chapter 1

Lily Potter neè Evans was often called the brightest witch of her generation. In a world that followed another step by step, she diverged in the making of Harry's protection. The power of a soul is a powerful thing as is a mother's love.

Agape - Agape love is entirely about the lover, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the one loved. Agape love, in its purest form, requires no payment or favor in response.

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"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside, now …"

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead – Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy …"

The last thing she saw in her life was a flare of green light, her dying screams ringing in her ears as the protection she set around Harry tore her soul and magic from her body as Voldemort killed her.

It burned. For an eternity. For a second. She had no body any longer but her soul burned just the same. She gasped for air she no longer needed as she tried to ignore the tremors that wracked her intangible form. Suddenly, breaking through the pain was the feeling of a fishhook behind her navel.

 _A portkey_ , her mind thought fuzzily just as it activated and the world spun. When it settled, she was surrounded by the dark with a white doorway gleaming just beyond her. Slowly, she approached, unsure what to expect. Lily hesitated one final moment before she strode through the doorway, hoping that it didn't lead to the afterlife.

Lily emerged and saw a playroom. It was an utter mess. Toys and drawings were scattered across the room and moving portraits lined the wall. Running her eyes across the portraits, she saw herself and James, laughing and smiling in one of the two largest portraits. Sirius and Remus in another grinning as well as Sirius turned into Padfoot every so often in the other.

Smaller portraits dotted the walls with the few people who had visited in the small family while they were in hiding. A clear portrait of a nervous Peter shifting guiltily in another portrait that Lily snarled at. _Traitor_ , her mind sneered. A foggy small portrait of both Professor McGonagall and a similar one for Professor Dumbledore. Another of Alice and Frank holding a laughing Neville.

Lily suddenly felt something tug on her soul, and without a thought, she turned to follow it, only to reappear in the dark room again, this time facing a large white screen, similar to what she had seen in a movie theater before. Just as she thought that, the screen flickered to life and she saw herself lying in a heap before Voldemort.

With her heart in her throat, she watched as Voldemort pointed his wand at her once more. Hearing Harry's cries reminded her that he was the only other living soul in the room left. Voldemort wasn't pointing his wand at her, he was pointing his wand at Harry!

Not her baby!

With that single, all-consuming thought, she could feel her very essence flare and energy poured through her as a shimmering, white shield snapped into existence, distorting Lily's view of the monster that wanted to kill her son just as a streak of that hateful green light shot out of Voldemort's wand.

Just as the Death Spell touched the shield, Lily fell to the ground screaming. _Merlin, this is worse than the Cruciatus_ , Lily was barely able the think before all thought was ripped from her as she spasmed in agony. Sometime later in the midst of her torment, it almost felt like there was a tear in herself before the agony covered all other feelings once more.

Finally, _finally_ , the pain ended and Lily remained on the ground, panting weakly as she trembled in misery. Blearily, she turned her head to look at the screen again and Voldemort was gone. There was a pile of robes and ash just beyond her body and Harry was still crying. Aching, all she could do was blink slowly even as her mind slowly woke and she saw Peter run in and cry out at the sight before him before he grabbed Voldemort's wand and raced back out of the room.

She was too tired to do anything even as she wished she could hold Harry, soothe him and tell him that everything was going to be ok. Weakly, she watched as Severus entered Harry's nursery next and cried out at the sight of her and took her lifeless body into his arms as he cried. Soon, he laid her back down before he cast a spell. _Invisibility_ , she thought, dazed as he vanished right before Sirius burst into the room and he, too, cried out at the sight of her.

Then, he looked up and met her eyes. Small hands reached for him on the screen as Harry's babble filled the air. With a sob, Sirius reached back for the little arms and Lily's view rose.

 _Harry_ , she thought. _She was looking through Harry's eyes._

Vaguely, she wished that she could see more of the surroundings, feeling a tug in her chest and watched as the image seemed to expand before it was as if she really was watching a movie. Sirius was crying and holding Harry while Harry looked fine beyond a scratch on his forehead.

Sirius has him, Lily thought in relief. Harry's safe now.

With that thought, she passed out.

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I am so sorry for not getting to my other stories. I was writing a scene with Lily for another story and I got hit with this. Followers of Nepenthe, I have another chapter being written as we speak! And my other stories have later parts of their stories planned out but not the next step. T_T My brain won't cooperate. But I am making an effort! Please be patient with me!


	2. Chapter 2

Agape Chapter 2

Darkness. Murmuring above her head. _Is that Dumbledore_ , Lily thought fuzzily as she tried opening her eyes to a blank, white screen once more. Gingerly, Lily pushed herself upright. _I don't even have a body anymore_ , she thought in annoyance. _I shouldn't be hurting like this_. Guessing that Harry wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, Lily got to her feet intending to go to Harry's playroom. Before she could make it there, she thought she saw something move.

Alarmed, she spun around and saw shadows creeping out of a previously unseen door. It was dark and practically oozed malevolence. _That wasn't there before_ , Lily thought with a horrible certainty. It felt like ice had rushed through her veins as her magic cautiously prodded at one of the dark wisps seeping out of the doorway before her magic snapped back and swirled around her in defense. Lily swallowed harshly as she shuddered and felt like she had lost all feeling.

That was Voldemort's magic, she thought horror-struck. He left something in my baby. As she tried to decide whether or not she should enter His doorway, a sharp pain shot through her head as her body swung around and ran for Harry's playroom without her consent. As she felt around in her magic, trying to figure out why this was happening, she realized what was ensuing. Harry's mind was in danger.

Lily instantly stopped fighting whatever was moving her body and ran with it into Harry's playroom where the portraits were crying out in alarm as a Shadow slowly covered one of Harry's drawings of a cat. Frightened, Lily watched as the parchment darkened and started cracking as the Shadow consumed more of it. With a cry, Lily whipped her magic at it, trying to protect Harry's memory and contain it.

A white, shimmering dome appeared around the contaminated memory, similar to the one that had protected Harry. Without pause, Lily forced the shield to compress down onto the parchment and then she felt as if it were burning her. With a flinch, Lily forced herself onward. Grimly, she drove her magic through the parchment and there was a sizzle in the air as the parchment whitened again and smoothed itself out. With a last shudder, Lily spun on her heel and planted herself before Harry's doorway.

Pressing her lips together in a thin line, Lily centered herself before she raised a shield that covered every nook and cranny to the entrance of Harry's mind. She refused to let Voldemort's magic taint her son. _Don't worry, Harry_ , Lily thought protectively. _Mummy won't let the bad man hurt you._ With that, she began to make another shield over the doorway. And another. And another. Eventually, Lily stopped, feeling like her defenses would be enough for now.

Only belatedly, she realized that this was the only entrance and she just covered it in layers of shielding. Lily stared at the doorway in dismay. Was she going to have to take it all down just so she could get back out? She still had to get back to what she had decided was her area and block off Voldemort's doorway so his shadows couldn't creep through Harry's mind again. With a groan, Lily started to prepare herself to take the shielding back down before she paused. Considered. Her eyes flicked back to the doorway with its shimmering protection.

Slowly, she reached out and tried to brush the innermost shield with her fingertips, only for them to slip right through the barriers. Lily remained in one place as a blush slowly covered her face and she dropped her fingers back to her side, feeling embarrassed. At least no one was around to see her almost mistake. Then she and James's portrait caught her eye. Her portrait seemed embarrassed on her behalf and elbowing a grinning James in the ribs as he stared at her in glee. Sirius, however, was cackling in his portrait and Remus had a sly grin on his face as he tried to calm Sirius down.

With another mortified blush, Lily marched back through the doorway into her space, determined to ignore her boys while they were in glee at Lily's embarrassment. She's had a long night, okay! First James dying, then her dying, then Harry's almost death! Not to mention what's been happening inside Harry's head.

Suddenly, Lily stopped and frowned. Something about that thought wasn't right. Just as she was able to think more firmly on that, she felt a tendril cold as ice and slimy as Gillyweed snake around her ankle. Disgusted, Lily yanked her foot away before bringing it right back down on top of whatever it was without a second thought. She heard a high-pitched shriek and heard a sizzle in response. Looking down, she saw that she had brought her foot down on a long Shadow. One that lead back to Voldemort's room.

Lily's immediate response was to slam her other foot on top of the tendril before it could escape, smirking when it shrieked and sizzled again before she ground both feet into the Shadow as hard as she could. A few seconds of this treatment and the Shadow vanished. Blinking in surprise, because she had thought she was going have to round them up with her shield, Lily's eyes flitted around her feet, seeing only ash.

"Well," Lily said out loud, her voice echoing in the chamber. "That works, too." Sparing another look down at the ash before flicking her eyes back over to the towering, blank white screen, Lily smirked. "Why don't I work my anger out on you, then," she said in vicious satisfaction. "We can call this Round 2 and this time, I'm going to knock you out," Lily vowed as she marched toward Voldemort's domain.

Quickly, she set up a layer of shields across his doorway, a steady symphony of shrieks and sizzles for each layer she made. Satisfied with her quick patch job, Lily faced her chamber again, eyeing all of the loose Shadows before deciding that efficiency would be best in this case so that she could properly reinforce Voldemort's prison, Lily constructed her shield on one side of her room reaching from wall to wall and slowly moved it to the far end of the room, watching as a majority of the Shadows fled ahead of the shield wall that was steadily moved forward, vaporizing the weaker and slower Shadows instantly, feeling a twinge of pain that lessened the more Shadows she destroyed.

Eventually, she had them cordoned off into a single corner. Unfortunately, she could feel her shields on Voldemort's door start to erode, so destroying the rest would have to wait. With that in mind, she set up another plethora of shields around the loose Shadows, building on the first. Finally, she was satisfied as she watched the Shadows writhe like a nest of vipers before turning her attention back to His doorway.

Straightening her shoulders, Lily set to work.


End file.
